Spring finger for magazines



1957 R. MARSH SPRING FINGER FOR MAGAZINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed lay 4,1955 INVENTOR F1 Roger- Marsh %a ,a;awm

ATTORNEYS Aug. 6, 1957 MARSH 2,801,485

SPRING FINGER FOR MAGAZINES Filed llay 4, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 UnitedStates Patent SPRING FINGER FOR MAGAZINES Roger Marsh, Hudson, Ohio,assignor to Weapons, Inc., Hudson, Ohio, a corporation of OhioApplication May 4, 1955, Serial No. 505,885

3 Claims. (CI. 42-50) The present invention relates to means forpreventing improper loading of magazines and more particularly to aspring finger or the like engageable with the base of an improperlyloaded cartridge in a magazine to indicate such improper loading.

Heretofore serious malfunctions have occurred in firearms due toimproper loading of cartridges in the magazine. Such malfunctions areapt to occur if the base or rim of a cartridge is not ahead of the rimof the cartridge immediately below it since the rim of the uppercartridge may catch on the rim of the lower cartridge during advancingof the upper cartridge toward the barrel.

According to the present invention a suitable projection, tumbler,spring finger or the like is provided in the rear wall of the magazinewhich does not interfere with normal loading of the magazine but engagesor catches the rim of an improperly loaded round to indicate to theperson loading the magazine that something is wrong and/or to preventfurther loading until the otfending round is loaded properly. Astationary projection may provide satisfactory results, but it ispreferable to employ a yieldable spring-pressed finger for this purpose.Such a yieldable finger may be employed on drum magazines,staggered-double-row box magazines, single-row magazines, and variousother magazines.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive meansto prevent improper loading of magazines.

Other objects, uses and advantages of the invention will become apparentto those skilled in the art from the following description and claimsand from the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view on alarge scale showing a single-row box magazine containing the springfinger of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary end elevational view taken substantially onthe line indicated at 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view of themagazine of Fig. 1 showing the position of the parts when the magazinecontains a series of properly loaded cartridges;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view similar to Fig. 3 showing theposition of the parts when one of the cartridges is loaded improperlywith its rim behind the rim of a lower cartridge;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view of amodified box magazine similar to the magazine of Figs. 1 and 2 and onthe same scale showing the position of the parts when the magazinecontains a series of properly loaded cartridges;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view on a large scale withparts broken away and shown in section showing another modified form ofmagazine according to the present invention;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the magazine of Fig.6;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sec- 2,801,485 PatentedAug. 6, 1957 tional view on a large scale of a double-staggered-row boxmagazine according to the present invention, the parts being shown intheir positions when the cartridges are properly loaded;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the magazine of Fig.8; and

Figure 10 is a fragmentary end elevational view with parts broken awayand parts omitted showing the operation of the spring finger of themagazine of Figs. 8 and 9 when a cartridge is loaded improperly.

Referring more particularly to the drawings in which like parts areidentified with the same numerals throughout the several views, Figs. 1to 4 show a single-row box magazine A having parallel side walls 1 and 2and sub stantially parallel end walls 3 and 4 defining a sheet metalreceptacle of substantially rectangular horizontal cross section forreceiving a series of cartridges 5. The side walls I and 2 are providedat their upper ends with inturned stop flanges or lips 6 and 7 whichserve as stop members to limit upward movement of the cartridges 5 andto hold the uppermost cartridge as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 in a dischargeposition for feeding to the chamber of the barrel. The front upperportion of the magazine is cut away in a conventional manner so that thetop edge of the end wall 4 is just below the nose of the uppermostcartridge and said cartridge may be moved forwardly under the magazinelips 6 and 7 and out of the magazine. The box magazine A may be made ofa standard size so as to fit conventional firearms and may be held inplace on the firearm in a conventional manner.

A sheet-metal magazine platform or follower 8 of sub stantially uniformwidth and length and of a size to fit in the cartridgereceivingreceptacle formed by the sheet metal walls 1 to 4 is mounted in saidreceptacle for vertical sliding movement and is biased upwardly by aresilient sheet-metal spring 9 of uniform width that engages theplatform 8 and the bottom of the magazine A. As in conventionalmagazines, the magazine platform 8 engages the lowermost cartridge,supports the cartridges in the magazine, and holds the uppermostcartridge against the upper lips 6 and 7.

The magazine is loaded in a conventional manner by depressing themagazine platform and moving individual cartridges 5 horizontally overthe upper edge of the end wall 4 and under the lips 6 and 7 toward theend Wall 3. Each cartridge 5 is of a conventional type and has acartridge case with a circular rim 10 that projects radially beyond thegenerally cylindrical outer surface of the cartridge case bodysubstantially as shown in Figs. 1 to 5. When the cartridges are properlyloaded in the magazine as shown in Fig. 3, the rim 10 of each cartridgeabove the lowermost cartridge is just ahead of the rim 10 of thecartridge immediately below it and no difficulty is involved in movingeach cartridge forwardly out of the magazine after it reaches the top ofthe magazine. However, when the rim 10 of one of the cartridges isbehind the rim 10 of the next lower cartridge, the rim of the lattercartridge tends to resist forward movement of the rim of the formercartridge as shown in Fig. 4 and malfunctions of the firearm on whichthe magazine is mounted are apt to occur.

Such malfunctions may be avoided by proper loading of the magazine andby insuring that the rim of each cartridge in the magazine is forwardlyof the rim of the cartridge immediately below it. The present inventionprovides a simple means to indicate incorrect loading of the magazine sothat such improper loading may be avoided. One of the simplest ways toprevent improper loading is to provide a spring finger or the like inthe rear wall of the magazine for engaging the bases of cartridgesplaced in the magazine. As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the rear wall 3 isprovided with a rectangular opening 11 halfway between the side walls 1and 2 and a resilient sheet-metal spring finger 12 of substantiallyuniform width and length that projects through said opening for engagingthe bases of the cartridges 5 as they are lowered in the magazine. Thelower portion of the spring finger may be welded to or otherwise rigidlysecured to the wall 3 and, if desired, may be reversely bent to providea lug or projection 13 for engaging a magazine catch on the firearm.

As shown herein, the cantilever spring finger 12 has a straight fiathorizontal upper surface 14 below the upper marginal edge of the opening11 and below the base of the uppermost cartridge in the magazine A forcatching the rim of an improperly loaded round before it is lowered topermit loading of an additional round. If a cartridge 5 is loadedimproperly as shown in Fig. 4 so that its rim 10 is behind the rim ofthe lower cartridge, the spring finger 12 will swing forwardly towardthe wall 4 far enough so that its upper surface 14 will engage thecircumferential surface of the rim of the improperly loaded cartridgewhen it is lowered from its uppermost position in engagement with theflanges 6 and 7 to prevent the loading of any more cartridges into themagazine. The engagement of the surface 14 with the rim of the offendingcartridge will prevent the lowering of said cartridge far enough topermit loading another cartridge or will resist such loweringsufficiently to indicate to the person loading the magazine thatsomething is wrong so that he can remove the top cartridge or reload itin the proper manner. When the cartridges are loaded properly in themagazine A as shown in Fig. 3, the spring finger 12 slides over therelatively fiat smooth bases of the cartridges as they are lowered anddoes not interfere with the manual loading.

It is preferable to provide suitable means to prevent catching by thespring finger 12 of the rim of the first cartridge inserted into themagazine. As herein shown, the sheet metal platform 8 has downwardlyextending wall portions and 16 parallel to the walls 3 and 4. The frontof the platform 8 may be shaped to press the finger 12 rearwardly beyondthe interior surface of the end wall 3 or far enough so that it will notcatch the rim of the cartridge engaging said platform, or the platformmay be shaped to hold said cartridge out of contact with the wall 3 in aposition where it will not catch on the finger. As herein shown, thewall portion 16 of the magazine platform 8 is provided with a pair ofparallel rectangular tongues or runners 17 which are spaced apart adistance greater than the width of the finger 12. Said tongues and theportion 1.5 of the platform 8 may slidably engage the walls 3 and 4 asthe platform is moved vertically. When the platform is raised above thetop of the spring finger 12 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the fingerengages the portion 16 between the tongues 17. Each of said tongues hasa reversely bent upper end portion 18 projecting above the generallyhorizontal upper surface of the platform 8 and having acartridge-engaging front face forwardly of the rear or outer surface ofthe wall portion 16 to prevent movement of the rear face of thecartridge behind said outer surface, whereby the finger 12 cannot catchthe rim of the cartridge on the platform 8. A single tongue with a widthequal to that of the platform 8 may be employed instead of the spacedtongues 17 to prevent such catching of the firstentered cartridge, butthe spaced tongues are preferred.

Figure 5 shows a single-row box magazine A which is exactly the same asthe magazine A except that the spring finger 12 and the lug 13 arereplaced by a stationary lug or projection 12a having a width equal tothat of the finger 12. The elements 3a, 4a, 6a, 8a, 9a, 15a, 16a, 17aand 18a of the magazine A are substantially the same as the elements 3,4, 6, 8, 9, 15, 16, 17 and 18 of the magazine A. The tongues 17a of themagazine platform move on opposite sides of the projection 12a as theplatform 8a is elevated by the spring 9a toward the stop member ormagazine lip 6a. The resilient spring 9a normally holds the uppermostcartridge 5 in a substantially horizontal discharge position against thelip 6a. The projection 12:: has an upper surface 19 in the form of aledge for catching the rim 10 of the last-entered cartridge 5 as it islowered from said discharge posi tion whenever the rim of said cartridgeis behind the rim 10 of the next lower cartridge. The surface 19 of theprojection 12a is below said discharge position and, like the surface 14of the finger 12, is preferably spaced therefrom a distance notsubstantially greater than the maximum diameter of the cartridge so thatimproper loading of a cartridge will be indicated before anothercartridge can be loaded into the magazine. When a cartridge 5 is moveddownwardly past the projection 1.2a, the total clearance may be notgreater than the thickness of a rim 10 so that the uppermost cartridgecannot clear the projection when its rim is caught behind the rim of alower cartridge. However, such projection may indicate improper loadingeven if such clearance is relatively large, particularly if conventionalloading methods are empolyed wherein each cartridge is pressedrearwardly toward the wall 3a as it is lowered in the magazine. Manualpressure in loading will force a misloaded cartridge into engagementwith the projection 12a to indicate the improper loading.

Figures 6 and 7 show a modified single-row sheet-metal box magazine Aaccording to the present invention. Said magazine is similar to themagazine A and has parallel side walls 1b and 2b and substantiallyparallel end walls 3b and 4b defining a receptacle of rectangularhorizontal cross section for receiving a series of rimmed cartridges 5bsimilar to the cartridges 5. The side walls 1!) and 2b are provided attheir upper ends with horizontal inturned lips or stop flanges 6b and 7bto limit upward movement of the cartridges 5b. The cartridges arepressed upwardly against the magazine lips by a magazine platform and aspring as in the magazines A and A. The rear end wall 3b is cut toprovide a rectangular opening 11b and an integral rectangular resilientspring finger 12b which functions like the finger 12 of the magazine Ato prevent improper loading of the magazine. If desired the entiremagazine box may be heat-treated to provide the finger 12b with thedesired resiliency.

Figures 8 to 10 show a double-staggered-row sheetmetal box magazine A ofa type suitable for use on highpowered semi-automatic rifles and variousother firearms. The amagazine A includes parallel side walls 20 and 21and substantially parallel end walls 22 and 23 which define receptaclesof rectangular cross section for receiving two rows of cartridges 24.The side walls 20 and 21 are provided with inturned lips or stop flanges25 and 26, respectively, for limiting the upward movement of theartridges in the magazine. A laterally stepped generally rectangular,sheet-metal magazine platform or follower 27 is mounted for movementvertically in the magazine A and is biased upwardly by a resilient sheetmetal spring 28. The platform 27 engages the first cartridge 24 thatenters the magazine A and holds the last-entered cartridges 24 in apredetermined discharge position against one of the stop members 25 and26, for example as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The top edge of the front endwall 23 is spaced below the stop members to permit forward movement ofthe uppermost cartridge 24 from its discharge position out of themagazine, but said end wall prevents forward movement of earlier-enteredcartridges from their storage positions in the magazine.

The rear end wall 22 is provided with a rectangular opening 29 halfwaybetween the side walls 20 and 21 and below said discharge position andwith a rigid yieldable finger 12c of substantially uniform width andlength that projects through said opening. The finger 12c is mounted ona pivot pin 30 for swinging movements on the end wall 22 and is biasedinto engagement with the cartridges 24 by a resilient rectangularsheet-metal leaf spring 31 which is welded or othewise secured at itslower end to the wall 22. The opposite end portions of the assumes pin300 project through alined circular openings in a pair of integral lugs32 which are bent outwardly at opposite sides of the opening 29 as shownin Fig. 9. The upper end of the spring 31 is spaced from the wall 22 andengages a lower portion 33 of the member 12c as shown in Fig. 8yieldably to resist movement of an upper portion 34 of said member awayfrom the cartridges 24. The upper portion 34 has a hat horizontal uppersurface 35 for catching the rim of an improperly loaded cartridge.

The stepped magazine platform 27 is shown herein as being formed of asingle piece of sheet metal of uniform thickness and is provided withfront and rear downwardly-turned lateral flanges 36 and 37 at itsopposite ends. The sheet metal of the platform 27 is bent longitudinallythroughout its length to form a lower portion 38 extending between theflanges 36 and 37 and extending the full width fthe platform and anupwardly projecting inturned supporting portoni 39 that terminatessubstantially midway between the side edges of the platform.

Like the magazine previously described, the magazine A may be providewith tongues to prevent catching of a cartrdige that engages themagazine platform. As herein shown, the flange 37 is provided with apair of rectangular tongues 40 and 41 which are spaced apart a distancegreater than the width of the finger 12c and which move on oppositesides of the finger as the platform is moved past the upper surface 35of said finger. The tongues 40 and 41 project a short distance above theupper surface of the portions 38 and 39, respectively, to limit rearwardmovement of the cartridges 24 on the magazine platform 27. The tongue 40has a front face which projects forwardly of the outer finger-engagingsurface of the flange 37 for engaging the lowermost or first-enteredcartridge on the portion 38 and for holding the base of said cartridgeforwardly of the upper surface 35 as the lower surface of said basemoves past said upper surface whereby said first-entered cartridge doesnot catch on the finger 120.

Each of the high-powered cartridges 24 shown herein is of a standardtype and includes a cartridge case 42 of circular cross section thatincreases in diameter towards its base and a bullet 43 coaxial with saidcase. The cartridge case 42 has a circular rim 44 that projects radiallybeyond the general body of the case substantially as shown in Fig. 8 andhas a substantially flat bottom surface with a centrally located primer45 substantially flush with said surface.

The double-staggered-row magazine A is loaded manually in a conventionalmanner by slipping each cartridge 24 horizontally under one of themagazine lips 25 and 26, pushing the cartridge rearwardly as far aspossible until its rim 44 engages the tongue 40 or the rim of anothercartridge, and pushing the cartridge downwardly to permit entrance ofanother cartridge. To be loaded properly the rim 44 of each cartridgemust lie behind the rim 44 of a later-entered cartridge directly aboveit and behind the rim 44 of a later-entered cartridge diagonally aboveit. If each cartridge 24 is positioned with its rim 44 ahead of the rimof the next adjacent cartridge diagonally above it as shown in Figs. 8and 9, the rim of a cartridge will not catch on the rim of a lowercartridge as the former cartridge is moved horizontally out of themagazine from its discharge position in engagement with the magazinelip.

The magazine A is of a width to receive two rows of cartridges 24. Theportion 39 of the magazine platform extends above the portion 38 adistance corresponding substantially to the radius of each cartridge 24so as to support the two rows of cartridges in such a manner that eachcartridge in a row is vertically aligned with the other cartridges insaid row and engages two other cartridges as shown in Figs. 8 and 9.

The yieldable finger 120 is biased against the base of each cartridge assaid cartridge passes the upper surface 35 and slides along such basewithout catching so long as the cartridges are properly loaded with therim of each cartridge ahead of the rim of the next adjacent cartridgediagonally below it. The rim 44 of a cartridge engaging the upperportion 34 of the finger He holds said finger so that it cannot catchthe rim of the next adjacent cartridge diagonally above it provided thatthe latter rim is forwardly of the former rim. However, if the magazineis loaded improperly and the rim 44 of the upper or last-enteredcartridge 24 is behind the rim of the earlierentered cartridge, as shownin Fig. 10, the upper end of the finger projects inwardly beyond theinner surface of the rear end wall 22 a distance substantially greaterthan the axial thickness of a rim 44 and sufficiently so that the uppersurface 35 of said finger engages the rim 44 of the last-enteredcartridge to prevent lowering thereof and to indicate that the lattercartridge is loaded improperly.

As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the magazine A is partially loaded andcontains six cartridges, the uppermost or last-entered cartridge beingyieldably held in a predeter mined discharge position in engagement withthe stop member 25 and the earlier-entered cartridges being held instorage positions between the end walls 22 and 23. Thecartridge-rim-engaging surface 35 is below the uppermost cartridge insaid discharge position and is preferably spaced therefrom a distancenot substantially greater than the radius of each rim 44 so that animproperly loaded cartridge 24 will catch on the finger 120 beforeanother cartridge is loaded into the magazine. As herein shown, thesurface 35 is adjacent the axis of an intermediate cartridge directlybelow the uppermost cartridge and adjacent the upper surface of the rimof a cartridge diagonally below said intermediate cartridge.

A fairly solid yieldable finger 12c is employed in the double-rowmagazine A shown herein to insure that the finger will not twist duringuse, but it will be understood that a thin sheet-metal spring finger ofthe type shown in Figs. 1 to 4 or Figs. 6 and 7 or a stationaryprojection of the type shown in Fig. 5 may also be employed in saidmagazine.

Each of the magazines A, A, A and A may be made with the same relativesizes and shapes as shown in Figs. 1 to 9 which are drawn substantiallyto scale, but it will be understood that the magazines may also havevarious other shapes and sizes. The upper surface of each of the detents12, 12a, 12b and 120 which catches the rim of an improperly loadedcartridge is preferably spaced from the uppermost or discharge positionof a cartridge a distance not substantially greater than the verticaldistance between the axis of the last-entered cartridge and the axis ofthe next-to-last-entered cartridge, but it will be apparent that many ofthe advantages of each detent will be obtained if it is located furtherfrom the discharge and receiving end of the magazine and closer to thebottom of the magazine.

It is to be understood that, in accordance with the provisions of thepatent statutes, variations and modifications of the specific devicesdisclosed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A magazine having front and rear end walls and parallel side wallsconnecting said end walls to define a receptacle for a series ofcartridges, each having a body of generally circular cross section and abase with a rim that projects radially outwardly beyond said body, saidmagazine having a discharge end and a lip inturned from each of saidside walls at said discharge end, a follower in said receptacle forengaging the first-entered cartridge mounted for movement toward andaway from said discharge end, spring means biasing said follower in adirection toward said discharge end, said follower and spring meansproviding means for yieldably holding one of said cartridges in apredetermined discharge position against one of said lips and forholding a row of said cartridges in storage positions inwardly of saiddischarge position wherein the rim of each cartridge in a storageposition is rearwardly of the rim of the next adjacent cartridge nearersaid discharge position and in engagement with the body of said adjacentcartridge, said lips preventing movement of a cartridge in saiddischarge position in said firstmentioned direction out of the magazine,said side walls providing means for holding the cartridges in rows whenthe magazine is loaded, said end walls being spaced apart a distanceslightly greater than the length of the cartridges to permit limitedaxial movement of the cartridges between said end walls, said magazinebeing constructed so that the annular front face of the rim of acartridge in a storage position within said receptacle would not engageany portion of the magazine if that cartridge were moved a shortdistance axially from a position nearest the rear end wall to a positionnearest the front end wall, the front and rear end walls being spacedapart a distance greater than the axial length of each cartridge plusthe axial thickness of the rim thereof so that the magazine may beimproperly loaded by placing the rim of a cartridge in a positionrearwardly of the rim of the next adjacent cartridge closes to saiddischarge end, whereby the rim of one cartridge will catch the rim ofthe adjacent improperly-loaded cartridge when the latter cartridge ismoved forwardly from the discharge position and will interfere withfeeding of the cartridge from the magazine, said magazine being openforwardly of said discharge position so that each cartridge that arrivesat a discharge position in engagement with the lip of a side wall may befed forwardly in a direction generally perpendicular to the direction ofmovement of said follower and past the front end wall out of thismagazine and so that cartridges may be moved into the magazine in theopposite manner to load the magazine, the outer edge of the front endwall being spaced at short distance inwardly from the nose of acartridge in said discharge position so as not to interfere with axialmovement of said last-named cartridge into or out of said dischargeposition, said last named distance being measured from said cartridge ina direction inwardly from said discharge position toward the storageposition, the front end wall preventing axial movement of the nextadjacent cartridge out of the magazine, an inwardly projecting fingercarried by the rear end wall and having a cartridge-baseengaging portionspaced inwardly of said discharge position and normally projectinginwardly from said rear wall a distance greater than the axial thicknessof the rim of each cartridge to provide means for catching the rim ofthe last-entered cartridge as that cartridge is moved from saiddischarge position to a storage position whenever that cartridge isimproperly loaded with its rim rearwardly of the next adjacent cartridgeinwardly of that cartridge, said finger permitting each properly-loadedcartridge to move from said discharge position to a storage position andin the opposite direction, said finger having a cartridge-engaging faceinclined away from said discharge end so that the finger will not catchthe rims of cartridges moving from storage positions toward saiddischarge end.

2. A magazine as defined in claim 1 comprising a double-staggered-rowbox magazine having side walls spaced apart a distance substantiallygreater than the diameter of said cartridges and less than twice saiddiameter so that the cartridges may be loaded into the magazine in twoparallel rows, said follower engaging the earliest-entered cartridge ineach row and holding the cartridges in staggered relation so that whenthe magazine is fully loaded each cartridge in a row is aligned with theother cartridges in a row and engages adjacent cartridges in both rows,said finger being located for engagement with cartridges in both rows toprovide means for indicating improper loading of a cartridge in eitherrow.

3. A magazine having front and rear end walls and parallel side wallsconnecting said end walls to define a receptacle for a series ofcartridges, each having a body of generally circular cross section and abase with a rim that projects radially outwardly beyond said body, saidmagazine having an upper discharge end and a lip inturned from the topof each of said side walls, a follower in said receptacle for engagingthe lowermost firstentered cartridge mounted for upward and downwardmovement toward and away from said discharge end, spring means biasingsaid follower upwardly toward said discharge end, said follower andspring means providing means for yieldably holding one of saidcartridges in a predetermined uppermost discharge position against oneof said lips and for holding a row of said cartridges in storagepositions below said discharge position wherein the rim of eachcartridge is forwardly of the rim of the next adjacent lower cartridgeand in engagement with the body of said adjacent cartridge, said lipspreventing upward movement of a cartridge out of the magazine, said sidewalls providing means for holding the cartridges in rows when themagazine is loaded, said front and rear end walls being spaced apart adistance only slightly greater than the axial length of each cartridgeplus the axial thickness of the rim thereof so as to limit axialmovement of the cartridges while permitting improper loading of thecartridges whereby the rim of the uppermost cartridge is rearwardly ofthe rim of the next adjacent lower cartridge and will catch the rim ofthe latter cartridge to interfere with feeding of said cartridge, thetop front portion of the magazine being open and the top edge of thefront end wall being spaced below said lips a distance slightly greaterthan the diameter of the cartridges so as not to interfere with feedingof the uppermost cartridge forwardly out of the magazine, said front endwall preventing forward movement of the next adjacent lower cartridgeout of the magazine, an inwardly projecting finger carried by the rearend wall and having a cartridge-base-engaging portion spaced below saidlips a distance slightly greater than the diameter of said cartridges soas to be located normally contiguous to the base of the cartridge justbelow a cartridge in said discharge position, said last-named portionprojecting for wardly from said rear wall a distance greater than theaxial thickness of the rim of each cartridge to provide means forcatching the rim of the uppermost cartridge as the latter is moveddownwardly from said discharge position to a storage position wheneverthat cartridge is improperly loaded with its rim rearwardly of the nextadjacent lower cartridge, said finger permitting each properly-loadedcartridge to move downwardly and upwardly toward and away from saiddischarge position, and means carried by said follower for positioningthe lowermost cartridge and said finger so that the finger does notcatch the lowermost cartridge as it is lowered to a storage positionwithin the magazine.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS768,842 Bruce Aug. 30, 1904 807,790 Taylor Dec. 19, 1905 875,209 PrinkeDec. 31, 1907 1,056,057 Randall Mar. 1.8, 1913 1,331,155 Johnson Feb.17, 1920

